stentonan
vol. XXXIlIJssue 8
north Carolina school of science and mathematics
may 2014
stentonanl23@gmail.com
Joan Barber, Vice Chancellor of
Student Life, retires after 28 years
By Evan Brooks
After 28 years of working
at NCSSM, Dr. Joan Barber
is stepping down from her
position as Vice Chancellor of
Student Life.
Barber grew up in Port
Gibson, Mississippi, a small
town in the central region
of the state. As the daughter
of two teachers, she began
studying biology at Alcorn
State University at the age
of fifteen and taught high
school biology, chemistry, and
physics after graduating at the
age of nineteen.
Her love for biology and
investigative research led her
to return to school to earn an
M.S. in Biology at Jackson
State University and a Ph.D. in
Zoology with a specialization
in renal physiology at Howard
University.
Her work as a doctoral
candidate focused on using
hemoglobin as a perfusate
in rat kidneys had profound
implications for kidney
transplantation and treatment
of kidney diseases.
She later completed post
doctoral study at the UNC-
Chapel Hill School of Medi-
3 cine, where she
5 also taught a
c course on uri-
E nary systems
3 to second-year
>, medical stu-
u dents.
g Barber came
■> to NCSSM in
1986 as Assistant
Principal, where
she brought her re
search expertise to
teaching Research
in Biology and
moved up to Asso
ciate Principal, then
to Vice Chancellbr
of Student Life.
Throughout her
life. Dr. Barber
has always been
passionate about research.
With her passion for
the biological sciences and
public service, she has always
found ways to make sure that
students have the opportunity
to be exposed to research.
Barber created Step Up to
STEM, a summer enrichment
program for talented rising
freshmen from across North
Carolina. The program began
last summer as a means to
increase the awareness and
access to research for students
across the state at an earlier
age.
Ershela Sims, Dean of
Engineering and Technology,
worked with Dr. Barber very
closely through designing,
implementing, and running the
program.
“Dr. Barber’s passion for
research is what really drove
the program,” said Sims. “As
the program director, she did
more than just rpake sure the
Continued to Page 2
Welsh ‘92 to speak at commencement
By Jungsu Hong
Matthew Welsh, computer
scientist and software engineer
at Google, will speak at the
2014 NCSSM Commencement
on May 31.
Welsh is an NCSSM
alumnus, graduating from
NCSSM in 1992. He received
his bachelor’s degree from
Cornell University in 1996,
and in 1996-97 he spent the
school year at the University
of Cambridge Computer
Laboratory and at the
University of Glasgow.
He then received his
Master’s degree and Ph.D.
degrees from the University of
California, Berkeley in 1999
and 2002, respectively.
After his receiving his
diplomas, Welsh worked as
a senior researcher at Intel
Research, Berkeley from
2002-2003 and became a
professor of Computer Science
at Harvard University.
Welsh was the Gordon
McKay Professor of Computer
Dr. Matthew Welsh
Science at Harvard University,
where he was there until 2010.
He authored several
books on the Linux operating
system, Linux HOWTOs, the
LinuxDoc format, and articles
in the Linux Journal. His main
research interests include
space of operating systems,
networks, distributed systems,
embedded systems, and
programming languages. He
left five months after receiving
his tenure to work at Google.
At Google, Welsh now
works as a software
engineer, and works in the
area of mobile computing,
distributed systems, and
networking.
Each year, all NCSSM
seniors are invited to submit
potential Commencement
speeches. These speeches
are then reviewed by a
committee of faculty and
staffwho work anonymously
without knowledge of the
students’ names to choose
a student Commencement
speaker who would normally
be the valedictorian.
This year, Parth Thakker
has been selected to speak at
the 2014 Commencement. “I
was honestly pretty surprised
to see my name in the email,
says Parth Thakker, “But I do
feel very honored to have been
selected, particularly since
the speeches were reviewed
anonymously. I hope that I will
do it justice.”
Michelle Zhao was selected
as an alternate, in case that
Thakker cannot speak.
This year’s commencement
is a bit unusual, as the President
of the student body typical
introduces the guest speaker.
This year, however. President
of the Student Senate David
Choi will assume this role
in the ceremony in place of
Student Body President Parth
Thakker.
“It’s the Senate President’s
responsibility to step in
whenever the SGA President
is unable to fulfill one of their
duties, but it’s both an honor
and a great gift to be able to
be speaking with Parth on
Saturday. Personally, it feels
emblematic of our relationship
and friendship as we’ve
worked through the 33rd
Session of SG together, and it’s
a great privilege to share that
moment with him,” said David
Choi.
The 33rd annual NCSSM
Commencement will be held
on Watts lawn and is open to
the public.
SG
update
By Kim Ngo and Adam
Beyer
The end of the school year
marks the transition between
the 33rd and 34th sessions of
Student Government.
The final meeting of the 33rd
Session on May 14 featured the
swearing-in of the new leaders
of the 34th Session: President
Abhi Kulgod, Senate President
Daniel Ren, and Treasurer
Vinay Kshirsagar.
In order to demonstrate
their devotion to the student
body, the new session’s leaders
had to perform a short dance
as selected by the outgoing
leaders. Kulgod performed the
“stanky legg,” Ren body rolls,
and Kshirsagar a rendition of
twerking.
Also at the final meeting of
Continued to Page 16
In this
issue...
College
Dr.
Senior
Class of
Map
Rigsbee
Wills
‘14
p4-5
p6
p7-14
pl5